Heavy rains, floods, disaster hit Telangana this time too; 17 killed so far, 10 missing

Heavy rains and floods in Telangana have claimed 17 lives during the last two days, while 10 others were missing and search was on for them.

Unprecedented rainfall in north Telangana districts triggered flash floods, inundating over 100 villages, cutting off road links, disrupting electricity and damaging agriculture crops.

Eight people were washed away in the worst-affected Mulugu district. Their bodies were recovered on Friday.

Hanamkonda and Khammam districts accounted for three deaths each. Two persons were killed in Mahabubabad while one death was reported from Jayashankar Bhupalapally district.

Ten other persons were washed away in separate incidents and the search was on for them.

Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavati Rathore said families of the deceased will be provided financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh and Rs 25,000 will be released immediately.

Several villages and dozens of colonies in Warangal and Hanamkonda towns remained inundated on Friday.

Drone visuals of Warangal and Hanamkonda show a main road completely submerged. Rescue workers operated motor boats to pull out stranded people.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari directed the District Collectors to take effective measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the flood-affected areas as the heavy rains that have been lashing the state for the past few days have started receding.

She held a teleconference with the Collectors on the relief and rehabilitation measures.

The Chief Secretary appreciated that so far the loss of life and property has been reduced due to the collective efforts of the District Collectors, police officers and the district administration in the flood-affected areas.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police Anjani Kumar said that with the help of the district administration, around 19,000 people have been shifted to safer places in various districts.

He mentioned that special control rooms have been set up in several districts and senior police officers have been sent to monitor the situation.

Special Chief Secretary, Irrigation, Rajat Kumar said that the work of restoring breached tanks and ponds in the state is going on in full swing.

Disaster Management Secretary Rahul Bojja said that although some districts received unprecedented rainfall in the history of the state, the damage was reduced with the joint efforts of the NDRF and the district machinery.

(With inputs from IANS)